Vivir en España no es mejor ni peor qui viviendo en inglaterra, es justo diferente!

I gave up a long time ago trying to convince people how great living here is because as stated earlier, unless you work at it, it won't be, and anyway, home is where the heart is!

So onto the theme started last week on habitation. A very popular choice of property is the Piso' or apartment. There has to be more of this type of accommodation than that of any other with large blocks in every town with none as apparent as on the Coast. They are popular, can be relatively cheap (unless you're looking for a front beach line or penthouse) and are in great supply, especially now. Most are on a complex with amenities that come with a service charge, I.E., pools, gyms, laundromat etc, and can be a great starter home for young and old near work or where the action is. But a great many have come onto the market lately due to, as with all short term housing, people moving on, up or out. Very few immigrants who buy an apartment on the coast rarely make it their permanent home and the desire to move to somewhere more substantial, permanent or more private is the practical next step.

The market for such places we have noticed lately is nothing less than stagnant, and if you're looking for your own holiday pad, let me know, I have a couple on the books whose owners are desperate enough to consider any decent offers. Moving at some time appears to be a natural progression for North Europeans, though very unlike the Spanish who appear to pitch up in a house, villa or flat and stay there forever. Predominantly, it's more of a British thing to move around, upgrade, downsize or change areas, the Spanish actually get confused as to why we do such a thing, but then again, they wonder why some of us are here at all!

Many apartment blocks come with restrictions, especially where pets are concerned like dogs and cats. Some allow small caged birds and tropical fish though to be fair, I doubt if you'd get a pony in a window box!

Some also restrict children under a certain age catering for the more mature or retiring client, while some agents and landlords will gladly hand over the keys without caring who or what you do, most of these are just happy for the income at the moment. But I've seen some lovely apartments relatively cheap with great views and location and have considered a second property of this nature myself.

Blocks of Piso's are still being built in their thousands with planning permission gained years in advance, mostly in and around golf complexes, suburban outskirts and social outlets though as mentioned before, the economic slow down has affected sales dramatically.

But be careful and remember, purchasing an apartment is very easy but trying to sell again in the short term with a glut on the market can be hard with inevitably little return. (The credit crunch here for example has seen some of these properties fall by as much as a third in value!)

If you already own one, keep it as a second or holiday home. Rent it out if you have the means, or invest in one just as a breakaway for yourself. It's nice to party at the weekend near the Playa (beach) or Ciudad (city) then return home to the peace and quiet of the inland. Estupendo!

Six days hire left on the car, we needed transport fairly sharpish! I had looked and enquired after a number of vehicles in the papers but was advised to be careful as purchasing a car in Spain, especially second hand, could be a minefield of paperwork and legal wrangling. How right they were. So we decided to go with a local car dealership on the recommendation of a friend, of a friend, well, you know the story. An appointment was made with a man on the phone who would take us to a garage not far from our home where we could view a number of cars and do a deal.

I had an idea in mind of the type I wanted, something robust, moderately priced, but fairly new and most of all, legal!

We had again set a budget and thought that would at least allow us something decent, but we knew nothing of how or what type of motor was available or suited us. I mean, we knew we may need a working vehicle, but we also wanted the comfort of a saloon for travelling.

We met with Dave' outside of a cafe and followed behind to an industrial estate in the next town to be greeted by a jolly Cockney' who introduced himself as Mick, the owner of the garage. There were about six different garages all next to each other in a trading estate block. Strange as it looked as all were English, and all seemed to have vehicles outside on the forecourts either for sale or in various degrees of repair.

I had been cautioned by an ex Pat prior to my visit to this enclave of motor traders and was wary of the dodgy seller. But to be fair, at the time, Dave and Mick appeared genuine and above board. We looked a number of vehicles though nothing seemed to suit. However, there was a red Seat Cordoba saloon on the forecourt which looked to be almost new, (in fact it was eighteen months old) low kms and well in date for its ITV test.)

It was not ideal, but with a bit of patter and after a short test drive, we decided that it was possibly the best deal at the time we would get for our cash. It was newish, air conditioned, clean and had a number of extra options that made it comfortable. I identified a couple of problems like a worn brake shoe and a duff brake light, but that would be fixed and put right. It would come fully tax paid, serviced and with a three month warranty, fair play.

Rose and I went into the office to pay and sort out the paperwork, but what paperwork! So Rose, bless her, did her best to try and understand the ins and outs of motor transfer jargon while signing here and dotting there all the relevant forms.

Now let's see, what was involved..? Copy of Passport, Copy of NIE, copy of Residencia or empadronimiento, Copy of past no claims, Certificado de hestor, the circulation permit, ITV Test certificate, Transferencia de Vehiculos certificate, receipt of municipal vehicle tax, and a copy of the mandatory guarantee, all this by law! pheew! And when you have all this on the table, the deal can be done.

Well, an hour later we had just about managed to sort things out. Post went off to all relevant aficionados and shaking hands, we now owned one of the most popular cars in Spain (that's because they make them here!) Insurance was next and it just so happened that Dave's wife ran an English speaking insurance agency just up by the Coin bus station. Dave got us the quote which we accepted after checking as reasonable, and the next day we picked up the car from Mike all washed and polished, seemed everything was in order.

However, there's always something that bucks the system when everything looks okay. Over the next few weeks, I took that car back to the garage no fewer than six times to sort out faults, one of them being a serious brake failure when coming down a steep hill. And besides that, the paperwork had not come back proving we were the legal owners, and what's more, after enquiring, we found it hadn't even been sent away!

Dave had sold us the car but Mick had taken on the responsibility of looking after it, and to be fair, he corrected any fault without fuss or question and appeared genuinely embarrassed by our displeasure. As for Dave, well, no matter how many times we contacted or arranged to meet him, he either failed to turn up or was too busy. That said, having had enough of being given the run around, I pitched up on my pushbike, pumped up and sweating at his wife's insurance office stating that if he didn't get my documents sorted, I was there to stay and would be less than amicable should there be any further delay, or words to that effect!

Again, he failed to turn up even when his wife told him of my presence in the office. She looked to be thoroughly unhappy with what had happened and finally stood up stating that she herself would get it sorted and apologised on behalf of her husband. I was not angry with her but I did mention that I thought her husband gutless' for leaving her to sort me out.

I left but did not hear or speak to Dave ever again. The required owner documents were sent to me within a few days with a number of discrepancies which Rose took time to sort fully, followed by the insurance papers which we checked thoroughly but found them to be in order.

Less than satisfied with the service, Dave was put on our ever increasing list of Rogue or c**p' traders which we now advise people of through our business to stay well clear.

I've done business with Mick since who has broken away from that group and would deem him to be a fair trader and very helpful to his clients.

Useful Tip
In Spain, if you buy a car and accept the paperwork as read, then any past fines, summons for accidents, outstanding charges, denuncias' (litigate claims) and the suchlike are then taken as your responsibility. So how do you check? Well, most people don't, and because of this, stories circulate quite often of people ending up in court with compounded fines of thousands of pounds and again, as is the law, ignorance is not an excuse! As long as you have all of the certificates and forms listed above, you should be okay. But then again, as in a recent survey, at least one in six vehicles in the Malaga area are reputed to have at least one document missing, mostly the insurance or ITV, but if you live and drive only in the Campo, you're never going to see a policeman anyway, so why bother!

Useful hint
Insurance companies have sprung up everywhere with the influx of immigrants and the housing and vehicle growth. It's hard enough in Blighty to get a good deal for all your needs, but here, again, there is the added complication of language and again, a number of key points are lost in translation much to the detriment of the client.

We used a Spanish company, then an English company, then a Spanish/English company who at some time sought to escape responsibility or gave a less than acceptable service. You'll be pleased to hear then that Direct Line' have set up shop over here with telephone insurance cover. The operators speak perfect English and the documents also come printed in English. It's even easy to set up a monthly standing order though you have to keep the payment receipt in your car in case the police wish to inspect it.

I'm not advocating or selling Direct Line' as a company or their services, I only hint that it may save a little hassle and be a lot less complicated.

Spanish facts
You're gonna hate me, but today saw the 106th day of sunshine without a drop of rain on my terrace! Still, washing has dried nicely.
There are around 2600 types of palm trees, I know, I think I've pruned most of them and they can hurt, but in horticultural terms there are only two categories; Northern Palms (Cold) and Southern Palms (Warm).
Famous Spaniards include; Painters Salvador Dali, Francisco Goya, Diego Velazquez, Pablo Picasso.
Opera singers Placido Domingo, Jose Carreras.
Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso and Rally driver Carlos Sainz, more later.

Useful Phrase
Tenemos palmeras en inglaterra también, mira justo Torquay!
Pronounced: Taynaymohss pahlmayrahs ayn eenglahtayrrah tahmbeeayn, meerah hustoh Tohrkay.
Meaning: We have palm trees in England too, just look at Torquay!

Next week:
The trials of deciding what to do with the last of your moving budget!